ADHD in the News - October 4, 2012

A weekly news digest** from the National Resource Center on ADHD: A Program of CHADD

""The approval of Quillivant XR fills a void that has long existed in the treatment of ADHD," said Ann Childress, M.D., president of the Center for Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Las Vegas, who was an investigator in the Quillivant XR laboratory classroom study. "We routinely see the struggles of patients who have difficulty swallowing pills or capsules. Having the option of a once-daily liquid will help alleviate some of these issues while still providing the proven efficacy of methylphenidate for 12 hours after dosing..." Full Story

How To Manage Employees With ADD/ADHD (Forbes, October 2, 2012)

"If you're in management and find yourself frustrated by a talented employee who is undermined by seemingly inexplicable but persistent behavioral issues, it's possible there's a specific reason for it. He or she may have ADD/ADHD. This issue was brought to my attention earlier this year when I did an article titled "How To Manage Difficult But Talented Employees." A number of readers contacted me and noted that the types of management challenges I was describing - by no means uncommon in the business world - sounded as though they could often be related to ADD/ADHD..." Full Story

Cogmed Working Memory Training: Does It Actually Work? The Debate Continues? (ScienceDaily, September 27, 2012)

"A target article in the Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition concludes that evidence does not support the claims of Cogmed Working Memory Training. Additional experts weigh in with commentary papers in response..." Full Story

"Attention Deficit Disorder is a neurobiological syndrome beginning in childhood that is chronic, pervasive, and hard-wired, with a strong genetic component. Research indicates that about 4 percent of adults in the U.S. have ADD. ADD symptoms also include forgetfulness, impulsivity and difficulties with organization, time-management, staying on task, and shifting attention. Shifting attention here means being able to unglue oneself from a task or know when to stop..." Full Story

"Research findings published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology have identified differentiating features between early-onset bipolar disorder (BD) and combined attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD-C). The researchers believe that their findings may help guide understanding of daily life problems and facilitate educational strategies in this patient population, given that differentiation of early-onset BD from ADHD can be difficult. This is due in part to the memory problems present in BD, which are also characteristic of ADHD..." Full Story

"Research findings show that comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and young individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increases the likelihood for psychiatric disorders and psychosocial dysfunction. The findings, published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, suggest that among ADHD patients, PTSD is not a result of excessive hyperactive-impulsive or inattentive symptoms and that ADHD symptoms should not be considered a sequelae of PTSD..." Full Story

"Eli and his father were spending some time playing a game of Monopoly together, when suddenly Eli screamed, "Daddy, make them stop drilling!" His father hadn't noticed the construction across the avenue, but clearly the noise was bothering Eli, who couldn't concentrate on the game anymore..." Full Story

Neuropsychiatric Differences Between Boys and Girls With ADHD (Psychiatric Times, October 3, 2012)

"While the overall prevalence of ADHD among children and adolescents has increased in the past 10 years, diagnosis among girls appears to have increased more rapidly. In the 1990s, the male to female ratio for ADHD was estimated to be about 9 to 1 in clinical settings and 3 to 1 in the general population. More recently, however, a large epidemiological study of 3907 children found that of the 8.7% who met DSM-IV-TR criteria for ADHD, 51% were boys and 49% were girls..." Full Story